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Compact fluorescent lights

Having had a bad reaction to these little compact flourescent light I was curious if others were having the same problem. I found this site that is interesing. The video has a lady with Lupus that also had a bad reaction to the lights. Wish I had seen this before I bought a supply and replaced all bulbs in the house. http://www.renewableenergygeek.ca/en...onment-part-1/

Hi Hillbillie,
I did the same thing about a year ago... They are almost all gone now, just one out front in a driveway light. They gave me headaches and sun-like reactions. So much for being "green". I have also heard that there are sleeves that you can put over these bulbs that helps block the uv rays. So maybe it's not a complete waste of money.

God Bless,
Deb
"You do not have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body." C.S. Lewis

The lights with the little globe type cover do not emit UV. I am going to switch to those. They say that regular bulbs will be phased out so I have to figure out something or buy plenty of kerosene for my old lamps ha ha... good thing I collect antiques!

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for posting this. I never had such bad reaction to regular lighting until about a year ago. That pretty much coincides with us replacing the bulbs in our home and I HATE having the lights on for too long b/c I get burned just sitting in the house sometimes. I thought I was crazy or just paranoid, but my face gets to looking like the woman's face on the video. I also have a friend that has to limit her exposure too and when I worked she sat beside me and we had our lights turned off at all times above us since they were so harsh. I'm telling my husband and getting these mini sun-burn bulbs outta my house. I am so glad to see this. I mean my face and arms literally look like that woman's sometimes. I will be interested to see how it feels with the old lightbulbs back or maybe even those covered ones. We'll see.

Islablue,
You are so welcome. I didn't know about it either until I replaced my bulbs. Then all of a sudden I'd get red like a sunburn everytime I sat in my chair. I have a floor lamp behind my chair to read. I had read the sticky that told about the flourescent lights (in stores and buisnesses) but didn't think the small ones would do that. I thought the little boogers might save me a dollar or two in the long run now they are costing me to replace them! I sure hope it helps you. I knew that they had to be bothering somone besides me. Save all that red skin for days when you are out having fun! It sure isn't worth wasting on the mini sun burners as you said! Billie

I have to say the lighting that bothers me the most is the lighting in cosco, I wear my big hat when I go in there and I still feel sluggish when I come out. I've noticed that this happened long before I was ever complaining about lupus symptoms. BIG HAT SUNGLASSES!

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulations, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort wich we ourselves are comforted by God. 2 Corinthians 1:3

Thanks for adding such a great link to think that's all we used at our old property but since we moved here 4yrs ago we've used normal bulbs, except for a long one in the kitchen for throwing light out but it's covered we asked if we could remove it and it was a NO because by law in these properties you must have them.
So my problems could have risen from the old property (who knows)

Fuorescent lights and the Americans with Disabilities Act

Originally Posted by Hillbillie

Having had a bad reaction to these little compact flourescent light I was curious if others were having the same problem. I found this site that is interesing. The video has a lady with Lupus that also had a bad reaction to the lights. Wish I had seen this before I bought a supply and replaced all bulbs in the house. http://www.renewableenergygeek.ca/en...onment-part-1/

Some 50% of lupus patients are photosensitive, that is, UV is noxious to them, makes them ill. I am definitely one of those people and sounds like you are too. UV comes from all kinds of sources, not just the sun. Fluorescent lights are one very common but not insignificant source. These lights are all over the place now because of environmental concerns; that wouldn't be a bad thing if simple modifications were made. There are inexpensive UV shields that can be placed over the lights. This is not just a matter of courtesy--it is the law, but it is not applied properly. Americans With Disabilities Act requires reasonable accommodations be made so public spaces are accessible to the disabled; while I, and I am sure you, don't think of myself as disabled, if we can't go in a store, sit in a restaurant or even, most amazingly, wait in a doctor's office because of UV intolerance, then by definition we have a disability (substantially limits a major life activity). More of us should complain to stores and legislators so that we can move around freely in a public spaces. And there should be exemptions to the new light bulb law for people who are photosensitive.
Sorry to go on like this, but this is a big issue with me. Not only am I photosensitive, but I also cannot tolerate most sunscreens, so bright summer days and flood-light Home Depot stores are off limits for me. I know I have a lot of company out there. Maybe together we can make a difference.
This is my first post on this forum; hope I'm not too pushy!!

The LED's are okay, but they're expensive. I hate to burn extra energy, but for now we mostly have good old-fashioned incandescents. I just try to be careful about not leaving them on unless I am using them.

Hopefully they'll come up with alternatives soon.

And yeah - since they started requiring businesses to use the CFL's, it pretty much sucks to go to a lot of places. Indoor lighting actually dictates where I am willing to dine, shop, etc. Sad but true. I look for places with big windows/skylights, halogen lights, or candlelight. I can't shop at Best Buy at all....in our area it's in a mall basement with NO natural light and TONS of flourescents.

My daughter's ballet school is the same - I felt bad because they needed volunteers to help with shows, etc - and I couldn't do hardly any of it, the place made me so sick and feverish. In order to simply WATCH her shows, we had to go to matinees when there was at least a little natural light, or I had to take tons of ibuprofen before and after the show to try to mitigate the effects of sitting there in those horrible lights.

It's funny - I remember many years back, before I got sick, I used to scoff at people who said that EM radiation from computer screens made them sick, etc....I guess they got their revenge on me!!!!

I read that in Great Britain, you can actually get a doctor's prescription for regular light bulbs for your house. Apparently they're phasing them out so you can't even buy them anywhere unless you have health reasons - but at least they officially RECOGNIZE that the CFLs cause problems.

I hope they come up with something better soon, and the flourescents in public places gets replaced.